07/18/2013

Cockpit Hack: Best of Both Worlds

I was recently speaking with a friend about his interest in buying a bike. He lives in NYC and I thought about all of the commuting and riding I did there as I offered advice. One piece of advice I gave was to get flat bars rather than drop bars. He just wants a bike to ride around on for utility purposes, not for hardcore exercise.

When you have mean streets, lots of pedestians, and tons of motor vehicle traffic, drop bars might not be the best option. But what if you could have the best of both worlds? Reader Rail Bike Bill clued us into this hack from the VeloOrange blog.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

While this example does not highlight traditional drop bars, the same concept could apply to drop bars. In hacking bars like this you have the issue of possibly needing two sets of brake levers, or very quick reflexes.

As mentioned the lack of brake levers is a bit sketchy, but I only use them in low-risk situations and am used to switching quickly to the flat bars now.

I thought about hacking in a second set of levers, but never got round to it. Then I got hydraulic brakes (best thing ever) and forgot about it. It would probably work but would require a bit of plumbing. Might give it a go some time.